The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-12-28

! HOUSTOk,l LOO 60 -hoo"t - " oiocA
Tuesday persons congregaied in Aliens
! Saloon, in the Fifth Ward, on Liberty
street, were startled by the loud report
of pistol In the back room. Hurrledly
pushing the lattice dools open, Mr. Al
len and the crowd following him found
Charles Briggs lying between the back
door and stove in cloud of smoke.
He clutched in his right hand n IS
calbre Smith Il Wesson pistol. In the
center of his forehead round, bloody
and ghastly wound was visible where
the bullet had entered the brain. Mr..
Allen, assisted by the spectators, lifted
Briggs from behind the stove and put
him in an easy position. Parties in
the saloon, when the shot was fired,
stated that Briggs had been sitting for
long time in moody condition in the
back room: his chair was tilted against
the wall, and his feet rested on the
edge of the top OF the stove that had
only smouldering wood embers in IL.
During his stay in the saloon and room
adjoining his conversation was of a
rational character and nothing trans
pired that caused any one TO believe
that he contemplated the act that
threw them all into state of excite
ment and caused bullet to crash into
his brain. Briggs up to within the past
few days was locomotive engineer on
the Houston, East and West Texas
railway. He resigned the position to
accept one of another character on
one of the railways that enter Hous-
ton. Since leaving the road he has
been frequenter of saloons drinking
steadily, but never TO excess. A
few days ago. while in sa-
loon, he talked ito the barkeeper OF the
recent death of his wife and said mood
lily. Il will soon follow her Some
months ago he married widow. She
became sick and died about six weeks
ago Briggs seemed TO be very much
depressed ut her death and abandone d
the home where his apparently irrepar-
able loss took place. Since then he
has been boarding in the Fifth Ward
and at times exhibiting signs of great
mental distress 1t is believed he shot
himself while in paroXlsm of grief.
At O'Clock he was still alive. a ply
stefan visited briggs soon after the
shooting and probed the wound. He
did not believe that Briggs could re
cover. The wounded man is aged
about So years, Briggs was taken
to the Iniirmary. He will surely die.
SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 2S.-About .
o'clock Monday night a fire broke out
simultaneously in the dry goods and
grocery stores of c. Roos and ii. Rhein
and the light frame structures were
soon Quilted. I he fire was immed lately
preceded by terrific explosion which
blew out the entire side of the two
| buildings. Roos was insured for $4,000
and Rhein for 500. The buildings
belonged to Conrad Zuschlag and were
uninsured. Total loss about $1,000.
WICHITA FALLS, Dec. 2S.-A arge
party of Nimrods organized Tuesday
morning to hunt antelope, and started
early with bugges, Winchestors. am
munition and greyhounds. The game
is more plentiful this winter than it has
been for years. The delegates, who
have all returned from the convention
at Dallas, are well pleased with the
immigration movement, and say it is in
harmony with their views.
EDGEwooD, Dec. % -- Saturday
night, about II or o'clock, the family
grocery store of M. $. Pickard was
broken into by thieves and about Sl5
or S20's worth of goods taken. The
entrance was made by pricing up one
of the front windows of the house.
No clew to the guilty parties at this
writ ng.
BURNETT, Dec %. Twenty-Five
thousand pounds of hides were ship
ped from this point Monday to New
York. Another diamond drill was de-
l.vcred here Tuesday to the agent of
w. w. Robins of San Antonio. IL goes